MOUNTAIN HIGH: At a time when many brands are reluctant to return to physical shows, some smaller French labels aim to bolster the Paris Fashion Week calendar with outdoor displays in creative locations. Case in point: Coperni, which is planning to host guests on the roof of the Tour Montparnasse, the tallest building in Paris.
Creative directors Arnaud Vaillant and Sébastien Meyer, whose last two collections focused on the digital realm, said they wanted to offer guests a memorable experience in real life for what is due to be the first physical show on the Paris calendar, on Sept. 29 at 11:30 a.m. CET.
“It will be the highest show ever staged in Paris,” they said of their location on top of the 690-foot-high skyscraper, completed in 1973.
“Coperni has always been linked to digital, to technology, it’s part of its DNA. The technology that we love, and in which we believe, is there to support our daily lives, our bodies, in what they experience. It will never replace the actual experience,” the designers explained.
“The show is precisely about that. It’s about authenticity, it’s about sharing a moment in the here and now,” they added.
The brand said it was working with the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, government authorities and show producer La Mode en Images to ensure social-distancing measures are respected at the venue in order to guarantee the safety of guests, models and staff.
PFW is scheduled to run from Sept. 28 to Oct. 6 with 88 brands on the official calendar.
So far, more than a dozen have publicly or privately confirmed their intention to stage physical events, ranging from industry giants like Louis Vuitton, Chanel, Dior and Hermès to smaller players like Koché, which plans to show its collection at the Parc des Buttes-Chaumont in northeastern Paris.